64. ROBERT H. GODDARD: The rocket man

Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) was an American physicist, engineer and the father of modern rocketry. He built the first liquid-fuelled rocket and his work was directly responsible for spaceflight. The story goes like this: As a 17-year-old boy in 1899, Goddard had a life-changing experience when he climbed a cherry tree, looked up at the stars and decided he would try to build a vehicle that could reach space, specifically Mars. From that day, Goddard dedicated his life to achieving his crazy goal and celebrated that day every year as his ‘Anniversary Day’ – the day his life found its purpose.

Goddard went on to study physics, engineering and aerodynamics and spent the rest of his life calculating formula, researching data and painstakingly testing his designs. After Goddard published his most important paper in 1919, which stated the science behind his rockets and his belief that they could be used to explore space, he received harsh criticism from the press who thought his claims were a joke. After years of this type of criticism, Goddard escaped into his work, becoming more reclusive and eventually relocated to New Mexico where he could work in peace. By the time of his death in 1945, the highest altitude one of his rockets reached was a fairly modest 2.7kms, but he had filed over 200 engineering patents and laid the groundwork for all of today’s rocket engines.

What an amazing man – this guy dedicated his entire life to a goal that he knew would never be achieved in his lifetime, made him look like a fool to the general public and a pariah to his colleagues. Yet his dream and conviction was so strong that he just kept working away at a thankless endeavour, never letting what other people said break his spirits.

You can watch a nice five-minute biography of Goddard in Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. Click here, it starts at the 17min mark.

- Thank you to Libby for submitting this quote.
– A reader pointed out that Wernher von Braun also deserves major props for developing the rocket.

It reminds me of two things (and could even have been the basis of them):
‘Moonwatcher’ at the start of Arthur C. Clarke’s novelisation of 2001.

A scene from the first volume of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, where Morpheus has descended into Hell to re-claim his helm via a shape shifting duel with the demon Churizon. Churizon makes a seemingly unbeatable move when he portrays himself as the heat death of the Universe, only to be trumped by the DreamKing proclaiming himself as Hope. The logic behind that move mirrors what Goddard’s saying.

@Gav, you were saying a while back you were going a bit stir crazy in your room. I mentioned @HubMelbourne as a possible solution. I don’t know if it’s for you, but they’re looking for new members at the moment, and would welcome a creative type like you with open arms! Open day is Thursdays 11:30 (with lunch!), or Friday at 4pm. The only down side is that the lift is being repaired, and the space is on the fourth floor! Here endeth the pitch.

I was actually musing on whether Clarke or Gaiman were inspired by Goddard’s words (I’m sure that Clarke, at least, would have known of the tale, and might have used it in a scene set 3 million years prior)

I’m a part-time Hub member. Meaning I go to the thursday lunch, have a yammer social account, and get discounts on certain talks/events. Rates are pretty flexible, but I’ll leave the details for Jan, Ehon, or Brad to explain to you later.

This looks great! This is one of my all-time favorite quotes, and you definitely did the good Dr. Goddard well in this How appropriate that you should release it today, too, the 43rd anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11–the mission that carried the first humans to step on our moon. Dr. Goddard put down quite a foundation for these heroes!

I want you to know that I feel a lot of people are actually looking back into lives of people who have changed the world because of your art. This is a very different experience from what we get from history books or wiki pages. thank you so much and although I am no specialist at pedagogy and its methodologies but from my own experience as a student i feel this sort of storytelling can work wonders if included in curriculum for children. I mean i would never have hated history or science facts if it were portrayed to me like this!

I love these comics so very much, I really look forward to the email, and these are truly inspirational quotes. So much better than the boring ones! Sorry for gushing, but just thoguht I’d share. Thank you for starting the website Gavin

Good one. but actually it’s just like something said by Hegel (therefore by Plato). I don’t really remember the word but someone else might. it’s about something true yesterday become false today and the one true today become false tomorrow as a new truth discovered.

Hi Gav, Rose here again. Love this one so much. Many of your comics are inspiring, uplifting, and positive… and urge people to see the wonder in the world! We need more of that. Thanks again for sharing with us all.

I’m so embarrassed I didn’t know who Robert H. Goddard was ._.! I’m so glad I found this web site today in 9gag (I’m also glad they shared the source.). I have read just a few of your comics, but I feel like I’m learning a lot and and also am starting to feel things I just threw away with the time. Congratulations for this! Have you ilustrated a Richard Feynman’s quote? I have one that I really like, I hope you like it too, and I’m sorry if you have actually read it or even drew it

“I have approximate answers and possible beliefs in different degrees of certainty about different things, but I’m not absolutely sure of anything, and of many things I don’t know anything about, but I don’t have to know an answer. I don’t feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in the mysterious universe without having any purpose which is the way it really is as far as I can tell possibly. It doesn’t frighten me. “

Hi there, I must admit that I’m a huge fan of your work, as a graphic designer and amateur ilustrator I love to see the work of people as talented as you. I’ve just watch all your gallery, every piece of your zen pencils collection, congratulations for your amazing talent and well, I don’t know what else to say XD just amazing
keep doing what you love
greetings from Mexico

He got some of his theories vindicated before his death, although it was Nazi-Germany that saw the potential in his work. The V-1 and V-2 rockets are based on Goddards principles, and when the German rocket scientists was interrogated after the war they told the Americans that they got a lot from Goddards research.

Not only that, the germans were the first to reach space with the V2 rockets, ie, the 100 km mark. And if we’re talking about rocket pioneers, some praise should be given to Tsiokolvsky, who first developed the rocket equation and envisioned that travel in vacuum was possible.

Man… This comic does good story telling for people. I mean not only for kids, but for mature people too. Sometimes people give a laughable comments about what they think laughable thinking, however, this story telling is so good for defining how to behave the attitudes towards others. Anyway, nice job.

it is interesting the same tv/news that told us it was bin laden who struck the towers is the same “people” who told us we went to the moon…. haha and none of us, or most have no idea how they would research if it would in fact be possible to fly a rocket to the moon.. just saying, dont be a dumb american and believe everything FOX pushes…

Anonymous. Any university with a decent laser and laser receiver can and usually does prove, every year, if not every semester, that man has been to the moon. They simply shoot the laser up at one of the mirrors the astronauts left behind, “catch” the reflection, compare how long it took to how long it should have taken and boom…proof. Don’t you ever watch Mythbusters?

Let’s not forget that Goddard studied those subjects at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in lovely Worcester, MA! (That’s WUSS-ter, “wuss” as in the insult.) We have a building named after him, Goddard Hall — it’s actually built with a negative pressure differential relative to the outside air so that in the event of a chemical explosion the building will implode rather than strew debris across the campus. I believe that has already happened twice… Goddard would be proud.

Hi Gav! I’m an avid fan…been following your works for a couple of weeks. I super love your works, they’re very inspiring! thank you so much for your brilliant comics!… you give me something to look forward to every morning. I’ve been promoting your site here at school and my classmates also got that good impression on what you do.
We will follow your works here in the Philippines. Keep up the great works! Inspire more people!

This is awesome, took my breath away. When I was ten years old I saw October Sky, and I was so fascinated about the space and rockets that now I studing Mechanical engineering. I want this one printed in my room.

I don’t want to be a buzz kill, and Robert Goddard was definitely a great guy, but modern (American) rocketry was basically created by the Nazis (e.g. Wernher von Braun) we stole from Germany after WWII.

We at wcuw.org 91.3fm in Worcester, MASS are proud to be able to say that it DID take a rocket scientist to launch our radio station. Robert Goddard launched WCUW, one of the earlier radio stations in the area and country while at Clark University in 1922. For 50 years it was a college station until becoming an independent, community FM station in 1973.

Quotes never were so inspiring, until you came along.
Thanks Gavin! You are doing such a favour in creating a visual impression reflecting the philosophy of life so simply! No wonder every one of your audience appreciates you so.

Man, I forgot how much I love your Goddard comic. Geez, Gav, you made me tear up a little! It’s always nice coming back to ZenPencils and re-discovering some of these quotes. Please keep up your amazing work

Hi. I Want to change the World.
Since I started reading your comics, and I have read all, I have been feeling better with my way of thinking. I especially loved “You are not like them”.
Thanks for this. Keep changing the world, my friend.